EXETER — Pelham won almost all the faceoffs, forced plenty of turnovers, moved the ball well and played with energy. But when it came time to shoot the ball, the Pythons simply couldn’t solve Laconia’s Stephen Towers.
The Laconia goalie stymied all of Pelham’s opportunities early, saving all nine shots sent his way in the first quarter and limiting the Pythons to just two goals through the first three quarters.
Pelham’s offense finally got going in the fourth, but by that point it was too late, and Laconia held on to win Saturday’s Division 3 state championship game 11-7.
“It took too long for them to get it together. We came out and were a bit scared in the first,” said Pelham coach Mike Couture, whose club lost to Laconia 11-2 on May 11. “Once they started clicking, as you can see when we play our way, we’re OK. But we waited too long to play our way.”
Laconia jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first, and two quick goals right before halftime gave the Sachems a 7-2 lead at the break.
Pelham couldn’t get anything going in the third, allowing two more goals to fall behind by seven, but the team finally began to rally in the fourth. The Pythons scored five goals over the final 12 minutes, but ultimately the rally came too late.
Connor Halloran finished with a team-high four goals, Kyle Lloyd had a goal and three assists, Robert Ryan had a goal and an assist, Devon Russell had a goal and Trevor Gagnon finished 15 for 19 on the faceoff.
Laconia was led by Riley Roy and Brenden Mooney, who scored four goals each, and Towers finished with an incredible 21 saves on 28 shots.
Pelham finishes the season 12-5, while Laconia wraps up its perfect season at 18-0.
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Boys Lacrosse, 06/11/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
